I love macarons! I’m pretty sure I have said it before. I love making them and I love eating them but I love giving them away most. They are not something that most people have very often, if ever so it’s fun to give someone a treat. I get a lot of satisfaction for very little effort!

If you are reading this and have never made macarons I know you are thinking I am nuts to say they take little effort. If you have read macaron blog posts and recipes you have likely read about all of the pitfalls of making them. You have read how “finicky” they are and how you will have to persevere and keep trying. I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to pay any attention to all of those warnings. I spent about a couple of months trying to master making them. I had read that I needed to age my egg whites, that they needed to be room temperature, that I couldn’t make them on a humid day, that I needed to let them rest on the cookie sheet to form a crust, that my oven temp was critical and that I MUST weigh my ingredients. All of this is baloney. Well, I do weigh my ingredients because it’s so much more convenient than using measuring cups but the rest of those warnings I ignore. I think fear is what stopped me from having success and it stops others from trying.

My attitude changed when I talked with a woman from Paris who makes macarons for a living. She works in a Parisian bakery making about 500 macarons a day. Her kitchen is in the basement of a 300 year old building. She told me that if she had to wait to have a dry environment she would never get any macarons made. She said her basement kitchen is so damp that the walls are moist. She doesn’t age her egg whites. She also told me that she didn’t have room to store the macarons while they developed a shell. She pipes them and pops them in the oven. She told me that the single most important thing to learn is the macaronage. That is the technique of folding the dry ingredients into the meringue. Once you get that figured out you are on your way. I did a little video to show how it’s done and what it should look like. I’m a visual person and I hope that it will help you to see it rather than just read about it. Emboldened with her encouragement I made a batch of macarons. I had great success time after time. They are now my go to cookie when I need something special in a hurry. It takes about 1/2 hour to mix up a batch of macarons. While they are baking I can make a filling (even if it’s sometimes straight out of a Nutella bottle). The sky is the limit when it comes to shells and fillings.

This is a link to a post on tips for making macarons so you will have success too.

I hope you love these as much as I do! Let me know if you have any questions!!

Sift Almond Flour and Confectioners’ Sugar into a bowl and then whisk them together until they are well mixed. Put egg whites, granulated sugar and salt into the bowl of your mixer. Start your mixer on medium (about 4 if using a KitchenAid) and beat for a few minutes. Gradually increase the speed to high and beat them until the meringue is stiff, glossy and almost dry. If you want colored Macarons now is the time to add a gel food color. I don’t recommend liquid food coloring. When coloring macarons make the color a little more intense than you want the finished product to be because the color fades in the oven while cooking.Next, add the dry ingredients to the meringue. Mix until incorporated. You don’t need to be too gentle at this point. When no white meringue is visible start the macaronage. Remember that macaronage (the French term for combining the ingredients) is about deflating the whites, so you don’t have to treat them gently. You want to knock the air out of them. Stir to deflate the egg whites until the batter is the consistency of lava and flows off your spatula. My video shows an example of the method I use to mix the batter.Pipe the batter onto either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (I prefer a silicone mat). I have the best success with cookie sheets that have low sides, not sheet cake pans. Use a small strainer to shake some of the strawberry dust on half of your macarons.

Bake at 300 degrees for about 15 minutes. All ovens are different. If you aren’t sure that your oven is accurate, you may want to check it with an oven thermometer. To be honest, if you read enough macaron recipes you will see temperatures from 260F to 325F. The temperature isn't that critical as long as you don't set a timer and walk away until you know how your oven bakes them and how long they will take. Check to see if they are done by giving them a little wiggle with your finger. If the tops move easily, they are not done. You want them set but not firm. It’s better to be a little underdone than over done. Let cool completely before trying to remove them from your parchment or silicone mat. If you need to use your cookie sheet again just pull the liner onto a cooling rack and let your baking sheet cool completely before piping more macarons on it. Once cool match your cookies and fill.

Strawberries & Cream Filling

8 tablespoons butter, softened

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

12 ounces confectioner's sugar

pinch salt

1 -2 tablespoons milk

1/2 cup freeze dried strawberries

Beat butter for about a minute. Add remaining ingredients except for the strawberries and beat until light and fluffy. When adding your milk start with 1 tablespoon. Add more if your filling is too stiff. Put strawberries in a baggie and crush with a rolling pin until you have small pieces. Sift the crushed strawberries to separate the strawberries and the amount that turns to powder. You will use the powder on the tops of your macarons. Fold the crushed strawberries into your buttercream. Fill matched cookies.

We don’t have a dog of our own but our children do and we sometimes puppy sit. One weekend we were keeping Tim’s dog Dixie

but we had no treats for her. Apparently getting puppy treats at home is a rare occasion but Dixie knows that Jim is a soft touch and would give her a treat after she went out for her walk. Dixie would stand by the counter where the treats were normally kept but there was nothing there. After her pathetic performance I decided I would try making her some.

I have seen dog treats recipes all over Pinterest but had never made any. I went searching for a recipe. The only criteria was that I needed to have all of the ingredients on hand. I didn’t want to have to go to the store. There wasn’t one recipe that met that criteria. After reading several recipes I came up with my own version. They are really simple to make and were a huge hit not only with Dixie but with Melissa’s dogs Teddy and Chase as well.

I keep them in the freezer but you can keep them in an airtight container.

I happen to have some dog bone cutters but you can cut them into any shape you want. The number of biscuits you get will depend on how big you cut them.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat liner and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, oatmeal and the baking powder. Add hot water, and peanut butter. Mix until it just comes together. If the mixture is too dry add a little more water.

Turn the dough out onto a pastry cloth or the counter which you have floured generously.

Pat or roll the dough out to about 1/2" thickness.

I happened to have a dog bone cookie cutter but you can use any shape or cut it into sticks with a knife. I guarantee that your puppy won't care what the shape is. Place cut out dog bones on cookie sheet . They don't get much bigger than when cut out so you don't need to leave a lot of room between the cookies, about an inch will be fine.

Once all the dough is cut up bake the bones for twenty minutes at 375 degrees. The bones should be light brown when done. Allow the bones to cool before giving one to your puppy!

I love macarons! I love making them and I love eating them. My local grocery store had key limes the other day so I decided to make some macarons with them. I found a recipe on this blog . I made a couple of small changes that are noted in the recipe. Key limes are smaller than other limes. Truthfully I cannot taste the difference so feel free to substitute regular limes for the key limes if you can’t get them where you live.

They turned out really good. The addition of graham cracker crumbs in the filling adds some texture and a nice flavor.

There have been a lot of social media posts recently on how difficult it is to make macarons. I wanted to take a minute to address some of the erroneous “rules” to successful macaron making to encourage you all to try your hand at making them. They are so good and very quick to make.

You may read that you need to age your egg whites or let the macarons form a crust before baking them but I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to do either. I use pasteurized egg whites straight from the refrigerator and I don’t let them rest and crust before baking them.

They really aren’t difficult at all once you get the hang of the macaronage (the mixing of the wet and dry ingredients).

I did a little video to show you the process of mixing the wet and dry ingredients. This blog post has tips that you may find helpful if this is your first time making macarons.

Sift Almond Flour and Confectioners’ Sugar into a bowl and then whisk them together until they are well mixed.

Put egg whites and granulated sugar into the bowl of your mixer. Start your mixer on medium (about 4 if using a KitchenAid) and beat for a few minutes. Gradually increase the speed to high and beat them until the meringue is stiff, glossy and almost dry. If you want colored macarons now is the time to add a gel food color. I don’t recommend liquid food coloring.

Next, add all of the dry ingredients to the meringue. Fold with a rubber spatula until incorporated. You don’t need to be too gentle at this point. Once you have the wet and dry ingredients mixed together gently start the macaronage and mix gently until no white meringue is visible. If you watch my video, you will see that the motion to do this is to both fold and rub/smear the batter against the side of the bowl. Remember that macaronage (the French term for combining the ingredients) is about deflating the whites, so you don’t have to treat them too gently. Stir to deflate the egg whites until the batter is the consistency of lava and flows off your spatula. My video shows an example of the method I use to mix the batter.

Pipe the batter onto either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. I have the best success with cookie sheets that have low sides, not sheet cake pans.

Bake at 315 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Check for to see if they are done by giving them a little wiggle with your finger. If the tops move easily, they are not done. You want them set but not firm

All ovens are different and if you aren’t sure that your oven is accurate, you may want to check it with an oven thermometer.

Let cool, match cookies and fill.

Refrigerate for at least 24 hours. You can eat them right away but they are best the next day. They also freeze beautifully, either filled or unfilled.

Like a majority of the country Delaware is in the middle of a frigid spell right now! As I write this it is 14 degrees and the forecast says it’s going to get colder as the week goes on. I’m sitting here wearing a silk camisole, a merino wool mock turtleneck, a long sleeve t-shirt and a cashmere pullover. Both sweaters are over 30 years old and have served me well. They are also the warmest things I own. I also am wearing fleece pants and wool socks. And still I am so cold!! I hate the cold weather! I grew up in Maine and lived several years in Minnesota and Wisconsin so I should be used to it but I’m not! Today my inclination was to huddle under a blanket with a book or watch some television. The Rose Parade was on so I opted for a little television and a warm blanket.

I can only seem to lay still for a short time so I decided I needed to get on my feet and get moving. Baking is considered an aerobic sport in my world and would get me moving enough to warm up. I wanted to bake something that is fun and Macarons fit the bill! I wasn’t really happy with my old chocolate macaron recipe. I decided today was the day to play around with a new recipe. I am really happy with how the new recipe turned out and I hope that you will like them as well.

If this is your first time making macarons please read this post with helpful tips. I also did a small video showing you how I mix them. In my opinion it is the process of mixing them (macaronage) that is the most crucial part of making macarons. Once you have the technique down you will be whipping them up at the drop of a hat!

I am posting this picture to show you what a 13 year old budding baker can do. I am so impressed and think you will be too! Great job Lindsay!!

Sift almond flour, cocoa and confectioners’ sugar into a bowl and then whisk them together until they are well mixed.

Put egg whites, granulated sugar and salt into the bowl of your mixer. Start your mixer on medium (about 4 if using a KitchenAid) and beat for a few minutes. Gradually increase the speed to high and beat them until the meringue is stiff, glossy and almost dry.

Next, add the dry ingredients to the meringue. Mix until incorporated. You don’t need to be too gentle at first. Once the ingredients are all moistened it is time to systematically fold or mix the batter to get the right consistency to pipe your macarons. If you watch my video, you will see that the motion to do this is to both fold and rub/smear the batter against the side of the bowl. Remember that macaronage (the French term for combining the ingredients) is about deflating the whites, so you don’t have to treat them gently. You want to knock the air out of them. Stir to deflate the egg whites until the batter is the consistency of lava and flows off your spatula. My video shows an example of the method I use to mix the batter.

Pipe the batter onto either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. I have the best success with cookie sheets that have very low sides, not sheet cake pans.

Bake at 315 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Check for to see if they are done by giving them a little wiggle with your finger. If the tops move easily, they are not done. You want them set but not firm. It’s better to be a little underdone than over done. Cool completely before removing them from the cookie sheet. All ovens are different. If you aren’t sure that your oven is accurate, you may want to check it with an oven thermometer.

Peanut Butter Filling

195 g creamy peanut butter

55 g softened butter

115 g confectioner's sugar

Beat peanut butter and butter for a few minutes until creamy. Add powdered sugar and beat until thoroughly mixed. Beat the buttercream on medium speed until it becomes light and fluffy (3-4 minutes)

Last year my grandson introduced me to browned butter chocolate chip cookies. They were fabulous and I have wanted to try using browned butter in another cookie recipe ever since. I thought that the flavor of the browned butter would be a good compliment to toasted pecans. I was right! The cookies are to die for!! I forgot to take a picture of them before I iced them but you can see that they bake up just as perfect as my regular sugar cookie recipe. All of the different sugar cookies that I have experimented with have all started with my mother in laws sugar cookie recipe. I think she would love the fact that so many people have been enjoying her recipe as much as the family does.

I have included a link to directions for how to brown the butter if you are not familiar with the technique. It’s very simple and your kitchen will smell heavenly while doing it.

1 Cup (8 ounces) browned butter, slightly softened* (It will take approximately twice as much butter to make 1 Cup of browned butter)

1 1/2 Cups (315 grams) granulated sugar

3 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

4 1/4 Cups (522 grams) flour **

1 cup toasted pecans finely ground.

Instructions

Brown the butter, cool it until it comes together and is no longer liquid. Browning the butter is optional. It adds a layer of flavor that is unlike anything else but the cookies are very good using regular butter.

Mix butter and granulated sugar until thoroughly blended. You don’t need to “cream” your butter and sugar. The more you mix your dough at each stage the more your cookies will spread while being baked. Add eggs and extracts. Mix well. Add flour and pecans. Mix until just combined. Do not over mix your dough. Separate the dough into 2 or 3 balls, flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. The dough can also be frozen at this point. Defrost it in the refrigerator. The dough will keep for a few days, in the refrigerator.

Take one piece of dough out and let it sit on the counter for a few minutes. The dough will be very hard, but it softens quickly. Working with one section of dough at a time, roll the dough on a floured surface, to about 1/4″ thickness, and cut into desired shapes. Less is more when it comes to flouring your pastry cloth. The more flour you incorporate into the rolled dough, the tougher your cookies will be.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are slightly brown on the bottom. All ovens are different so keep an eye on your cookies the first time you make them to determine the best time for your oven.

**This dough is stickier than some recipes. I roll my cookies out on a pastry cloth with flour so this recipe allows for some added flour from the rolling process. If you do not use flour to roll your cookies you may add an additional 1/4 cup of flour to the recipe.

After the success of my vegan royal icing, I decided to try to give vegan sugar cookies a try. When I made the vegan royal icing, I did it only because I was fascinated with the idea of making something delicious out of the liquid in a can of chickpeas. I didn’t have anyone who follows a vegan lifestyle to make it for, it was pure curiosity.

After consulting Google, I found a recipe that looked interesting on Gretchen’s Bakery’s website. It was a bonus that it too called for aquafaba. I made minimal changes. We love roasted chickpeas so it was no hardship to open another can of them. Directions on how to make roasted chickpeas can be found here

This cookie dough is a little different to work with than my normal sugar cookie recipe. You must work additional flour into the dough after chilling it to be able to successfully roll it out, as is stated in the recipe. I found that we liked the cookies better when they were allowed to brown slightly. Link to Vegan Royal Icing

Drain can of chickpeas. Set aside chickpeas. The juice is aquafaba and is used in this recipe as well as Vegan Royal Icing.

Cream the Earth Balance with the sugar until light and fluffy, about 3- 5 minutes. There is no need to soften it.

Add , the aquafaba and the extracts to the creaming butter/sugar mixture and scrape the sides of the bowl

Next mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add it all at once to the creamed mixture. Mix just until it is all combined.

Wrap this dough disc in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight before using or you can store it for up to 1 week wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator, or in the freezer for 2 months.

You must re work this dough with some additional flour to a pliable consistency after it has been chilled. Do not skip this step.

Knead it with some flour until it is no longer a crumbly mass, but a soft pliable dough

Roll out the dough to ¼" thick and cut shapes as desired

Transfer cookie cutouts to a parchment lined sheet pan and bake in preheated to 350° F oven for approximately 15-22 minutes or until light golden brown.

I found that these cookies taste better if they are baked until they are a light golden brown.

Did you know that you could make true royal icing without eggs? No? Me neither. I knew about glaze icing which uses confectioner’s sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice and some liquid (milk or water). It is similar to royal icing but doesn’t give the control or decorating options that royal icing gives a baker.

I wanted to try to make a vegan royal icing that would taste as good as my regular recipe and was easy to control.. A friend recommended that I join a Facebook group devoted solely to aquafaba. She is vegan and said that aquafaba is a common substitute for eggs in vegan recipes. The word aquafaba is the common name for the cooking liquid of beans and other legumes like chickpeas.

I didn’t have to do much experimenting. I did a lot of reading but in the end I decided to try my regular recipe but substitute the aquafaba for the pasteurized egg whites in my recipe.

These cookies were all decorated totally with vegan royal icing. Even if you don’t follow a vegan lifestyle you should give this a try. All you have to do is keep a can of chickpeas in your pantry and if you are ever out of eggs or meringue powder you will have an excellent, inexpensive substitute.

On a side note, if you want a really yummy, healthy snack roast the chickpeas that you now have left over.

To make roasted chickpeas rinse and drain the chickpeas. Spread the chickpeas on a clean towel to dry. When dry, mix them with about a tablespoon of olive oil and any of your favorite seasonings. My grandson used Old Bay. I used just salt but the sky is the limit and only limited by your taste buds and imagination. Spread them on a foil or parchment lined sheet pan. Roast for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees. We like them really crunchy so I roast them a little longer but you should experiment to see how you like them best. This is a picture of them after they came out of the oven. You won’t be sorry you tried them!

Mix confectioner’s sugar and cream of tarter in your mixer bowl. With mixer on low speed, add the aquafaba, water and the corn syrup. When it has all come together as a big lump in the bottom of your bowl, turn the speed up to high and beat for about 2 minutes. If it’s too thick, add some water. I like my icing super thick so you have the option to thin to your desired consistency for everything from flooding to roses. You will notice your icing will get whiter and glossy. That’s when it’s done. I always add white food coloring to my base icing at this point. Mix until combined. I have noticed that I no longer have discoloration on my cookies since I started adding white gel color but it's totally optional.

This is another adaptation of my standard cookie recipe, which I love for many reasons. Not the least of which, because it is a wonderful reminder of the many years we baked this recipe for our Christmas cookies. It bakes beautifully and it is easy to adapt to your particular needs (even gluten free).

I have made cookies & cream macarons in the past, but hadn’t made a cookies and cream type of cookie that I could ice and decorate until now. Although I made them a few weeks ago, I wanted to get my “official taste testers” (otherwise known as my fabulous grandchildren) to review them before I put them on the blog.

The brown iced cookies have chocolate royal icing on them, and the blue ones have regular royal icing. Some testers preferred the chocolate iced cookies and some preferred the plain ones. To make chocolate royal icing I added 1/2 cup of good quality cocoa powder to my regular royal icing recipe. Either way, I don’t think you will be disappointed with this recipe.

Like my regular sugar cookie recipe, this cookie does not spread and bakes true to the shape you cut out.

Mix butter and granulated sugar until thoroughly blended. You don’t need to “cream” your butter and sugar. The more you mix your dough at each stage the more your cookies will spread while being baked. Add eggs and extract. Mix well. Add flour and ground cookies, mix until just combined. Do not over mix your dough. Separate the dough into 2 or 3 balls, flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. The dough can also be frozen at this point. Defrost it in the refrigerator. The dough will keep for a few days, in the refrigerator and several months in the freezer.

Take one piece of dough out and let it sit on the counter for a few minutes. The dough will be very hard, but it softens quickly. Working with one section of dough at a time, roll the dough on a floured surface, to about 1/4″ thickness, and cut into desired shapes. Less is more when it comes to flouring your pastry cloth. The more flour you incorporate into the rolled dough, the tougher your cookies will be.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are slightly brown on the bottom. All ovens are different so keep an eye on your cookies the first time you make them to determine the best time for your oven.

*Make sure you don’t over soften your butter. You should be able to make an dent with your finger when pressed but not so soft that your finger will go right into the butter.

I have been trying quite a few gluten free recipes lately with mixed success, until today. My granddaughter’s college roommate has Celiac Disease and I wanted to be able to send her sugar cookies when I send them to my granddaughter. I have made a couple of different gluten free cookies to send her, like oatmeal cookies and meringues, but never a decorated sugar cookie.

I tried several brands of gluten free flour but none of the resultant cookies tasted like a cookie I would want to eat.

I found a recipe for a blend of flours to use as a substitute, and tried that as well, but that wasn’t very tasty either. One day, I read a review of Namaste brand gluten free flour. All of the reviewers said it was the best they ever tried, so I decided to give it a try.

Namaste flour acted just like all purpose flour in this recipe. My husband couldn’t tell the difference between the gluten free sugar cookie and the regular sugar cookie.

When I make them for Mel, I am as careful as I can be to avoid cross contamination. The last thing I want to do is make her sick.

If you want these to be dairy free as well, substitute Earth Balance for the butter in the recipe. It’s a fabulous substitute. I use it in my Vegan Cookies with great results.

I hope you will try this recipe and please let me know if you like it!

Mix butter and granulated sugar until thoroughly blended. You don’t need to “cream” your butter and sugar. The more you mix your dough at each stage the more your cookies will spread while being baked. Add eggs and extracts. Mix well. Add flour, mix until just combined. Do not over mix your dough. Separate the dough into 2 or 3 balls, flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. The dough can also be frozen at this point. Defrost it in the refrigerator. The dough will keep for a few days in the refrigerator and several months in the freezer if well wrapped.

Take one piece of dough out and let it sit on the counter for a few minutes. The dough will be very hard, but it softens quickly. Working with one section of dough at a time, roll the dough on a floured surface, to about 1/4″ thickness, and cut into desired shapes. Less is more when it comes to flouring your pastry cloth. The more flour you incorporate into the rolled dough, the tougher your cookies will be.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are slightly brown on the bottom. All ovens are different so keep an eye on your cookies the first time you make them to determine the best time for your oven.

*Make sure you don’t over soften your butter. You should be able to make a dent with your finger when pressed but not so soft that your finger will go right into the butter.

**You may substitute any other flavoring you prefer for the lemon but don’t eliminate the vanilla. Be aware of nut allergies if you choose to use almond extract.

***This dough is stickier than some recipes. I roll my cookies out on a pastry cloth with flour so this recipe allows for some added flour from the rolling process. If you do not use flour to roll your cookies you may add an additional 1/4 cup of flour to the recipe.

Last year I found out that one of my daughter’s favorite cookies are oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies. I found a recipe to try. They were really good, so good that I did a blog post about them.

This new recipe is even better and has become a favorite cookie to have in the freezer. It makes a lot of cookies so there are plenty for the cookie jar and for the freezer.

There are several differences in this recipe. The day I wanted to make some oatmeal cookies I found I was out of raisins so I substituted dried cranberries. I also decided to use dark chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet chocolate chips because I thought the combination of cranberries and dark chocolate would be a good one. I was right! The end result was a really yummy cookie that has become a favorite.

The big difference between this recipe and most other oatmeal cookies is the first step which is to soak the cranberries in the beaten eggs for an hour. It is an important step and one you shouldn’t skip. It makes the cookies really moist and chewy.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we all do. Let me know what you think!

This is a very important first step that makes the cookie: combine eggs, raisins and vanilla and let stand for one hour.

Cream together butter and sugars.

Add flour, salt, cinnamon and soda and mix well.

Blend in egg-raisin mixture, oatmeal, and chopped nuts.

Dough will be stiff.

Drop by heaping teaspoons (I use a small ice cream scoop) onto ungreased cookie sheet, or roll into balls and flatten slightly.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Do not overbake. The cookies won't look done in the center but will continue to cook when out of the oven. Let cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before moving to a cooling rack.

I have been trying to find a chocolate cookie recipe that tastes great while still standing up to royal icing. This proved to be more of a challenge than I expected. Finding a recipe that tasted good was no problem, but many of the recipes I tried were not as sturdy as what I was looking for.

As a last resort I decided to try to make my tried and true sugar cookie recipe into a chocolate cookie. Surprisingly, it worked really well! It has a very good chocolate flavor and it is easy to decorate. Keep in mind that the quality of your cocoa powder is going to dictate the flavor of this cookie. Try different brands to see which one you like best. My favorite is Hershey’s Dark Cocoa, but Hershey’s classic cocoa is also a great alternative. Make sure your cocoa powder is fresh, this will also influence the quality of your finished product. If you would like to try my royal icing recipe here is the link.

I hope you will give this recipe a try and let me know what you think.

Mix butter and granulated sugar until thoroughly blended. You don't need to "cream" your butter and sugar. The more you mix your dough at each stage the more your cookies will spread while being baked. Add eggs and extracts. Mix well. Add flour and cocoa, mix until just combined. Do not over mix your dough. Separate the dough into 2 or 3 balls, flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. The dough can also be frozen at this point. Defrost it in the refrigerator. The dough will keep for a few days, in the refrigerator.

Take one piece of dough out and let it sit on the counter for a few minutes. The dough will be very hard, but it softens quickly. Working with one section of dough at a time, roll the dough on a floured surface, to about 1/4″ thickness, and cut into desired shapes. Less is more when it comes to flouring your pastry cloth. The more flour you incorporate into the rolled dough, the tougher your cookies will be.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. All ovens are different so keep an eye on your cookies the first time you make them to determine the best time for your oven.

**You may add any other flavoring you may like but don’t eliminate the vanilla. Some great additions would be 2 tsp. espresso coffee powder, 1 tsp. peppermint extract, 1 tsp. orange extract or 1 tsp. almond extract. Be aware of nut allergies if you choose to use pure almond extract.

*** In dry, winter months start with less flour. If the dough is too soft add the remaining flour.

I have been asked many times in the last few weeks about how to make PYO cookies. When I wanted to make the first PYO cookies I did, I went searching for some online tutorials. I didn’t have any luck, so it was just trial and error on my part. Now that I am trying to write a tutorial for these cookies I can understand why there isn’t one. When writing everything out it seems like it’s going to be a daunting task, as there is no quick and easy way to tell you everything. But, be patient and bear with me. Once you read everything you will see how easy they are to make and will hopefully get the courage to try your own. I promise you that you will wonder what took you so long! Because I didn’t plan to make this post I don’t have good step by step photos.

You will need a few supplies to get you started. One of the most popular PYO cutters available is from Creative Cookier. It comes in two sizes. I bought the larger one, but I sometimes wish I had bought the smaller one.

You may use any cutter you like as long as it is big enough to hold your image. A search on Pinterest will bring up hundreds of ideas. The reason I like the one shown is because it has a ready place to put your paint dots and a place to lay the paint brush.

You will also need a stencil. I bought my first PYO stencils on Etsy, which has many options to choose from. I am now learning how to cut stencils with my Silhouette machine. The ones pictured below are the first ones that I cut myself. There is a Facebook page for a Silhouette Cookie group, and the very talented Kealalani Baumann made these files available to the members of the group.

That’s all you “need” for this project, but there are a couple of items that make the process so much easier so I have to mention them.

The Stencil Genie is an amazing tool for stenciling cookies. I did a blog post on my thoughts about this wonderful tool. You may read it here. There are some basic stenciling tips in the blog post that you might find helpful.

The last tool that isn’t a necessity, but one that I find really helpful are these scrapers. I used to use an offset spatula. The spatula works but not as easily as the scrapers. They are also from Creative Cookier

I have not received anything from Creative Cookier to recommend these products, I just really like them and think you might find them helpful, as well.

Directions:

First you will need to cut, bake and flood your cookies with royal icing. Let them dry for 24 hours.

There are several ways to get your paint dots on the cookie. Some people paint a circle of the color they want directly on the cookie. I prefer to use royal icing transfers. I made a sheet full of circles awhile ago, and I store them in a covered container and then paint them when I need them. I do all of my transfers on acetate or transparency film (the kind used for overhead projectors). They seem to dry faster and pop off easier than on parchment paper or waxed paper but you can use that as well. If you choose to use acetate, lightly grease it with something like Crisco. I wipe it all over and then take a paper towel and wipe most of it off. I almost always use an image of what I am making under my acetate. I use small magnets to secure them to the back of a small cookie sheet so that I can easily move the transfers to a safe place to dry when I’m done. This is one of the free images available through Google that you can print to use as a pattern. This is a one inch circle but you can Google whatever size you want. Measure the space on your cookie that you will be putting the dots on to make sure you have enough room to put all the colors you want on each cookie. Print it out and put it under the paper you are going to pipe your transfer on. Stay inside the circle with your icing because it will spread a little. When getting ready to paint the dots it will be easier to paint them if you stick them to your paper with a dot of icing, otherwise they will slide around as you are trying to paint them. DO NOT add the dots to your cookie until after you have stenciled them, because your stencil will not lie flat on the cookie.

.

When I first started making PYO cookies I used gel color mixed with a little vodka for the “paint.” They took at least 5 days to dry. I did a little research and found that a lot of cookiers use airbrush colors instead of the gel colors because they dry so much faster. They were right. You don’t need to add any vodka to it. You will just paint the color straight on the transfer and let dry. One coat will usually be enough. They still take longer to dry than you think they will, so plan accordingly. Mine took a full day to dry.

Next, you will need to choose what your stencil medium will be. Most people use thick royal icing and I always did, too (the cookies at the top of this post were done with royal icing). My main complaint with that process was that when the outline got wet, the color ran a little. The kids didn’t care, but I didn’t like the way they looked. I experimented with using chocolate candy melts on my Halloween PYO cookies a couple of weeks ago, and it worked like a charm! I melted some candy melts and used that in place of royal icing for the stencil. My theory was that once the chocolate was dry, a little water wouldn’t melt it and the edges would stay nice and tidy. I was right, it worked wonderfully! It will be my stencil medium of choice from now on. The cookie below was done with black candy melts. I used a snow globe cutter because I wanted a smaller cookie this time.

When you are ready to stencil your image on the cookie, secure the stencil in place and scrape the icing or candy melts down the stencil in one smooth stroke. This video by the always fabulous Julia Usher is what I used to learn how to stencil. Truthfully, I learned most of what I know about decorating cookies from watching her videos.

If using candy melts, melt them by placing them in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for as long as it takes for them to be almost melted. That will depend on how many candy melts you are melting. I did a small custard cup with 1/3 cup of candy melts and it took about 40 seconds. Stir until fully melted. Let it cool and thicken and then proceed as you would with royal icing. Place a dollop of the chocolate at the top of the stencil and run your scraper or offset spatula down the cookie in one smooth stroke. Remove the stencil and set the cookie aside to dry. Another advantage of using candy melts is that the cookie dries in just a few minutes. I can usually do about 4-6 cookies before I need to wash the stencil. You will wash your stencil with warm, soapy water to remove the chocolate then pat dry with a paper towel. If you are doing a lot of cookies you might want to keep your bowl of melted chocolate in a larger bowl of warm water to keep the chocolate of spreading consistency. I only did 6 cookies, so I didn’t need to use a water bath. I could probably have done a dozen or more cookies with the chocolate that I melted. It takes much less than one would think.

You will also need paint brushes to give with each cookie. I found the best price at Walmart. I paid about $1.00 for 20 paint brushes. If you want a shorter handled paint brush you can break or cut off as much as you like. Then take a lighter and melt the end. It only takes a few seconds and it makes a nice rounded end on the brush. I bag the cookies and tie a ribbon around the top securing the paint brush in the ribbon. It makes a nice presentation.

I buy cellophane bags from Gifts International. I buy bags that can be tied at the top for PYO cookies. I like the self sealing bags for other cookies. Their prices are really good, but the shipping is a little high. I try to order about a 6 month supply of bags at once to minimize the shipping costs. I bag every cookie that I give away so I go through quite a few bags in a year.

I print some instructions to tape to the back of each bag. Feel free to copy and print it for your cookies.

Paint Your Own Cookie

Dip the brush in water

Wet the color you want to use

Color the picture

Rinse brush in clean water before using on a different color.

Eat your creation!!

I hope these instructions are clear enough and will give you the boost you need to make your own PYO cookies. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. I will do my best to answer them. You may also find me on Facebook.

Jim and I spent the weekend with Nate, and by now you all know that he and I love to cook together. I was trying to think of something different and fun for us to make, and I decided it would be fun to make bread. But which kind? I narrowed it down to Challah Bread and Pretzel Bread. We decided that pretzel bread would go with the homemade vegetable beef soup that we were having for dinner that night. Boy were we right. This bread is fabulous! Our biggest challenge was making sure we had enough left over to serve with our soup when his parents got home. For this project I was Nate’s assistant. He’s becoming a wonderful cook!!

The bread was a huge hit with everyone. Even Jim asked me to make some when we got home, and he is not a homemade bread lover. I know, right? Who doesn’t love homemade bread? Well, Jim doesn’t. Go figure!

I hope you will try this recipe and let me know what you think.

Here’s Nate measuring the flour.

When adding the baking soda to the boiling water you have to be careful and do it slowly because it bubbles quite violently.

Brushing melted butter on the loaves is just what this bread needs to have a nice soft, chewy crust. We only made one cut in the top of the loaves and probably should have done two. It helps release the steam and bake better. It didn’t affect the taste, but they would have been prettier with double cuts. We thought it was pretty funny that one of the loaves looks almost like a face.

Put yeast mixture in the bowl of your mixer with the dough hook attached. Add salt and butter mixture. Add 2 cups of flour. Mix until the flour is incorporated. Add remaining cup of flour. Mix until incorporated and then increase speed to 4 on a Kitchenaid and let mix until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl and is slightly sticky to the touch. If any dough comes off on your finger, add a tablespoon or two of flour and mix some more.

When done put the dough into a well greased bowl. Cover with greased plastic wrap. Let sit in a warmish place (out of draft) until double in size. It took mine about 90 minutes to double in size.

When dough is almost double bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once it's boiling slowly add 1/2 cup of baking soda.

When the dough is double in size, turn out onto a slightly floured board. At this point you can divide into 2 loaves or 6-8 rolls. You will want to use scissors or a bench scraper to divide your dough. Do not use a knife, if possible. This is a great little video that will show you how to form the rolls. The second method she shows is how you shape the round loaves. Shaping rolls video

When the bread is all formed, drop one loaf at a time into the boiling water. If you are doing rolls you may do 3-4 rolls at a time. Boil for 60 seconds, turn over and boil for an additional 60 seconds.

Remove from the water bath and place directly on a well greased baking sheet. Sprinkle coarse salt over the tops and cut a slit or two in the top with a very sharp knife or a razor blade.

Bake the bread at 400 degrees for 22-25 minutes. Bake the rolls for 13-17 minutes. When they are done baking brush with melted butter.

The bread is easiest to cut when it's cool but I doubt you will be able to wait that long to try it.

What better flavors to welcome Fall than the spices associated with pumpkin pie? I have wanted to try a pumpkin spice cookie for several years, and in my mind I thought that all I would have to do is replace some of the granulated sugar in my cookie recipe with some brown sugar and add some pumpkin pie spice. So easy! I thought they tasted pretty fantastic, but they still needed to pass the grandkid test. If they liked them, then I knew I had a winner. After the cookies were made, I sent a few cookies to four of my grandkids and a larger box of cookies to my granddaughter away at college, so she could share with her teammates. I loved the cookie with a cup of coffee, but I wanted to see if they had wide appeal. Most kids love cookies, and college students really love getting goody boxes, but I was counting on them to give me their honest opinion. I assured them that their comments would have no bearing on future cookie packages. When the reviews came in everyone loved them.

In addition to making the cookies with pumpkin pie spices, I added a few drops of caramel flavoring to my royal icing recipe. It was the perfect complement to the cookies. I was able to get the flavoring at my local farmer’s market, but I included the link to Amazon’s product page so you could see exactly what I’m talking about. Lorann Oils makes many different types of oils, emulsions and flavorings. I have read that you shouldn’t use any oil in royal icing but I have no experience to back that up. To be safe I used the flavoring.

The recipe I used to make my cookies is below, but if you have a recipe that you love and feel like experimenting try substituting half of the granulated sugar with brown sugar and add 2 1/2 teaspoons of either pumpkin pie spice or with a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and a tiny bit of ground cloves.

These cookies are wonderful on a chilly day with a cup of whatever warm beverage you prefer. I hope you try them and let me know your thoughts!

*If you don't have pumpkin pie spice you can make your own mixture with 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg and 1/2 tsp ground cloves or any combination you like.

Instructions

Mix butter and granulated sugar until thoroughly blended. Add eggs, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice. Mix well. Add flour, mix until combined. Separate the dough into 2 or 3 balls, flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. The dough can also be frozen at this point. Defrost it in the refrigerator. The dough will keep for a few days, in the refrigerator and several months in the freezer.

Take one piece of dough out and let it sit on the counter for a few minutes. The dough will be very hard, but it softens quickly. Working with one section of dough at a time, roll the dough on a floured surface, to about 1/4″ thickness, and cut into desired shapes.

Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes, until the cookies are slightly brown on the bottom. All ovens are different so keep an eye on your cookies the first time you make them to determine the best time for your oven.

I don’t normally refrigerate or freeze my cut out cookies before I bake them but a lot of bakers do to help minimize spreading so I thought I would see if it made a difference in my cookies. I froze the cutouts for 15 minutes before baking them. I didn’t find any difference in any of the cookies except the frozen cookies took longer to bake. As you can see I didn’t get any spreading with either cookie. It’s one of the things I love about this recipe.

I love stenciled cookies, and have tried making them a few times with limited success. Needless to say, I didn’t let that dampen my enthusiasm. Because I only make cookies for my grandkids (hence the name Nanagrams), I have the luxury of playing around with designs. A cookie doesn’t have to be professional looking to taste great, and nobody minds eating my mistakes!

Many years ago I did a little bit of scrapbooking, and when Silhouette came out with a cutter (about 10 years ago), I bought one immediately. I had visions of making many scrapbook pages of beautifully cut designs. After I got my machine I tried to cut some card stock, and couldn’t even make it cut a simple shape. Convinced I was an idiot I put it back in the box, where it sat in the back of a closet until two weeks ago, when someone told me about a new group on Facebook dedicated to cutting stencils for cookies using a Silhouette machine. I joined the group and decided to give the machine another try. I finally figured out what I had done wrong all those years ago. It’s amazing how much you can learn by reading the manual! They have since come out with several new, improved machines, but I am very happy with this one and have no plans to upgrade.

There is definitely a learning curve, and I hit it hard when I set out to stencil my first cookies. As I always do when learning a new technique, I watched several videos and read a few blog posts to learn how to do it. The most important things I learned were that you need to secure your stencil so the icing doesn’t leak under the stencil and that your consistency has to be right. If it’s too thin, it will leak under the stencil and if it’s too thick, it will drag and distort your stencil. I have found a toothpaste-like consistency works best for me. I learned about using magnets to secure your stencil on Sweet Sugarbelle’s blog. That worked okay for me, but I was still getting a lot of messy looking cookies. I also read about the Stencil Genie, which provides a frame to hold your stencil in place over your cookie while you decorate it. As this is just a glorified hobby for me, I was having a hard time justifying buying a new tool to decorate cookies.

My sister is relatively new to this crazy cookie-decorating hobby, and has volunteered to make 200 cookies for her local SPCA. We talked about the Stencil Genie and wondered if using that would simplify the process. Voila! I had found just the motivation I needed to purchase the Stencil Genie and give it a try! Below are my impressions of using the Stencil Genie to stencil cookies. I have not received anything in exchange for this review, and these opinions are mine alone.

The frame comes in two pieces, and the stencil is held between them with very strong magnets. There is a thin side and a thicker side to accommodate different cookie thicknesses. I have to tell you that this little tool is a game changer! It made stenciling my cookies so much easier, and was remarkably easy to use. My hands can be a little shaky, and this really helped to keep the stencil steady. Though pros typically use an airbrush machine when using stencils, I use only royal icing, and it worked perfectly. If you are serious about stenciling cookies, then I highly recommend getting one of these for yourself. I sent mine to my sister for her to try, and am confident that she will love it as much as I do.

This was my first try with the Stencil Genie. I cut the stencil using my Silhouette machine and used the Stencil Genie to apply the icing. After I sent mine to my sister, I had to stencil a few more cookies. It was so much more difficult without that little tool, so I have decided to let her keep it (surprise Peggy!) and will order another one for myself!

As I mentioned, in an earlier post, I have been trying to “cure” my stomach issues with diet rather than with medication. I will be honest and tell you it’s been a real struggle. I feel like it’s one step forward and two steps backwards most days.

One thing I needed to give up, at least temporarily, was wheat based products. I haven’t missed much but I do like a sandwich now and again or a piece of toast with my eggs. I haven’t heard many good things about store made GF bread so I decided I would make my own.

I have tried quite a few GF bread recipes and this is the one that I think is the closest to “real” bread. I have been making bread for a zillion years with great success but the technique for gluten free bread is totally different. It’s important to not over think the process. I had a couple of colossal flops before I figured that out. The technique is more like a dessert type bread than a yeast bread but the bread will look, feel and taste like yeast bread.

This is not my original recipe. I found it by doing a Google search for the best gluten free bread recipe. The search led me to a wonderful blogger named Kim. She has done all of the hard work and posted a recipe that is really great! I wanted a recipe that looked like “real” bread and seemed easy to make. This one fits the bill. I made a couple of changes to her recipe but my recipe is almost exactly as the one Kim posted. I used granulated sugar instead of honey because I cannot eat honey yet. You can’t leave out the sweetener because the yeast needs it to do it’s “thing”. The recipe I am posting is with the ingredients that I except for the oil. I used coconut oil and it does have a slight coconut taste. I have listed the oil choices Kim provided in her recipe. I will use a different oil next time.

Be sure to go over and read Kim’s blog post. She has a lot of great information.

A note about why I use a digital thermometer to check if the bread is completely cooked. Gluten free bread is a much moister bread than regular yeast breads. It may look done and sound hollow when tapped but it can still be too moist inside. When it isn’t done your loaf will collapse as soon as you take it out of the pan. Another blogger recommended using a thermometer to test the bread. It worked like a charm!

Place water in a microwave safe cup and heat for about a minute. You want the water to be about body temperature or 100 degrees. The exact temperature isn't critical. It's better to be too cool than too hot.

Place all dry ingredients in the bowl of your mixer. Whisk until thoroughly blended. If you are using sugar add it now. If you are using honey add it with the wet ingredients.

Add all wet ingredients. Mix on low until all ingredients are mixed and then mix on medium for about 2 minutes.

Place in a greased loaf pan (I used a 9 x 5 inch pan). Spread with a spatula or damp fingers to get a fairly smooth top.

Place pan, uncovered, in a warm, draft free place to rise. I set mine in my oven with the light on and the door closed. Let rise for 40 minutes.

Remove from oven and pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for about 40 minutes or until done. I use a thermometer to check to see if it's done. I bake it until it reaches an internal temperature of 210 - 220 degrees.

When done, remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Take the bread out of the pan and cool on a wire rack.

I have been having some stomach issues lately so I am in search of the reason why. I am hoping to get to the bottom of it by adjusting my diet rather than depend on medication to do it for me. I have been reading until I feel like my eyeballs are going to fall out. It’s a lot to take in and planning a menu that eliminates all of the things that could be causing these problems require a spreadsheet. I am spending the weekend preparing some things that will help me and will start, in earnest, on Monday. I am attempting to only eat the foods that are classified as Low on the FODMAP food list.

One of the things that I would have to give up is yogurt. I really love Greek yogurt and wasn’t happy to read that it wasn’t allowed. But, in reading further, I read that something called 24 hour yogurt was allowed. Off to Google I went in search of 24 hour yogurt. I used to make my own yogurt all the time and what I discovered is that 24 hour yogurt is made the exact same way except it is left in the oven for 24 hours instead of 12. The longer the culturing process goes on, the longer the culture has time to multiply, thereby increasing the amount of bacteria and acids in the yogurt while decreasing the lactose content of the milk.

2 tablespoons commercial yogurt like Fage or any yogurt with live cultures.

Instructions

Put the milk in a pot and heat it to 180 degrees. If a skin forms on the top of it, skim it off. Allow the milk to cool to around 110 degrees. Whisk in the yogurt. Turn the light on in your oven. Cover the pot and wrap it with a towel. Place it in the oven and leave it for 24 hours.

If you want a yogurt that is more like Greek yogurt you will have to strain it. I have tried several different methods but I found the best, cheapest and easiest way to do it was by using a jelly strainer. Put the yogurt in the strainer and leave it for several hours. The whey will strain off and you will be left with a thick yogurt that also substitutes nicely for sour cream. I will add a link to the strainer that I use.

I only have to be on this low iodine diet for a few weeks but I still want to be able to eat some of the things that I love. The biggest drawback of this diet is that you can’t eat anything that is already prepared. That means no more last minute calls to Dominoes, no rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and no carry out from a favorite deli. I am going to post some of the recipes that I have made while on this diet in the hopes that it will help someone like me who is looking for good, basic food while on this journey.

One of the best finds for anyone on this diet is Earth Balance baking sticks and Earth Balance spread. I am amazed at how good it tastes! I used the vegan option because I can’t have soy while on this diet either. The first time I was on this diet I had to go to a health food store to find it but now it’s in every grocery store and very easy to find.

One cold weather meal that we love is chicken pot pie!. From Fall until early Spring, you can almost always find some in my freezer. I often make 5 or 6 at a time. They freeze beautifully and they go from freezer to oven which makes them perfect for a last minute meal. No need to thaw them before you bake them.

This recipe makes a large pie and will serve 6 hearty appetites. We usually have a simple tossed salad on the side. If I am making a single recipe I will put it in two smaller casserole dishes. I freeze one and bake the other one It’s the perfect amount for the two of us with enough left over for lunch.

This is the same recipe I use when I don’t have to follow a low iodine diet except I use real butter, store bought or homemade chicken stock and iodized salt.

You can make this in any type of pie pan or casserole dish that you prefer. You can make individual pot pies, too.

I was amazed at how great the pie crust turned out using the Earth Balance instead of shortening or butter. It went together in a flash and was really easy to roll out. It was the flakiest pastry I have made in awhile. I always make my pie crust in a food processor because it takes about 5 minutes to put it together.

** LOW IODINE PIE CRUST

1/2 cup Earth Balance cut in pieces and frozen for about 1/2 hour

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon non iodized salt

2-4 tablespoons ice water

Make sure your butter is cut up and really cold before starting.

Put some ice in a glass of water and measure your water from it. It’s important for the water to be very cold.

Combine flour and salt in food processor. Pulse once to mix.

Add the Earth Balance and process until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Add 2 tablespoons of water and pulse, a few times.

Pulse until the dough forms a ball. You may have to add a little more water. Pinch a little of the dough together. If it holds together you have enough liquid. If it doesn’t, add another tablespoon of water.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into desired shape, i.e., pie plate or casserole dish and place on your pie. If you are baking it right away, you may brush it with an egg wash. I didn’t because I don’t like wasting a whole egg for one pie.

I wasn’t kidding when I said this chicken stock is the best stock you will ever make. It doesn’t have any fancy ingredients in it but it will produce a wonderful, full flavored stock that you can use in a multitude of recipes. Looking at the photo , the large jar of stock, on the left, shows the stock after it has been refrigerated and the fat has come to the top. The smaller jar, on the right, shows the stock after the fat has been skimmed and it has been heated. Isn’t it gorgeous?

Because I am on a low iodine diet, I had to use salt with no iodine it it. When I’m not on a low iodine diet, I use table salt. I prefer table salt to Kosher salt but I know a lot of cooks prefer Kosher salt over table salt. Use whatever you prefer. It will still be delicious.

The difference between stock and broth is stock is made from bony chicken parts and broth is made from chicken meat, like breasts. Making a good stock takes a lot longer than making a broth. Chicken stock tends to have a fuller mouth feel and richer flavor, due to the gelatin released by long-simmering bones. You will also notice that the chicken stock made from roasted chicken pieces has a much richer color than broth made from chicken meat that hasn’t been roasted.

I discovered that I could make the same stock, in a pressure cooker, in a fraction of the time. Instead of simmering for 6 hours, I cooked it for 1 hour. It took about 1/2 hour for the steam to get to the right level and another half hour for the steam to come down on it’s own. Two hours vs. six. Another advantage of using a pressure cooker is that you end up with a super clear stock.

You can also make this stock in a slow cooker. This will take longer but you don’t need to “babysit” the pot. You could even cook it overnight.

The recipe below is the basic recipe. I have done it with chicken wings, chicken parts, and a whole chicken. It depends on what I want to make with the stock. I usually make it with a whole chicken. Then I divide the meat and stock into meal size containers for the freezer. When I want to make a meal using one of the containers, I add cut up carrots and celery to the meat and stock mixture, season it to taste, simmer it for about 1/2 hour and then add cooked pasta, rice or dumplings.

Put chicken on a foil lined baking sheet or other shallow pan. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. For a low iodine diet, use Kosher salt or table salt with no iodine.

Roast for 45 minutes and then add the onion, cut side down, to the roasting pan and roast 15 additional minutes.

To a large heavy-bottomed pot, add the carrots, celery, roasted chicken wings, onion and the juices from the pan. Add about a tablespoon of salt. Cover with 12 cups of water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Let simmer, uncovered, on low for 6 hours, skimming any impurities that float to the top. Strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer.

At this point you may freeze your stock in individual containers or refrigerate it for about 5 days.

You may also make this in a pressure cooker or a slow cooker.

Pressure cooker directions - After roasting the chicken put all of the ingredients in a pressure cooker. Do not fill your pressure cooker more than 2/3 full. You may have to adjust the water and add less to stay below the 2/3 line. Bring the steam up, cook for 1 hour, let steam go down on it's own. When you can take the lid off the pot, strain the broth and store or use.

Slow cooker directions - After roasting the chicken put all of the ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover with water. Cook on low for 8 hours or overnight.

If any of you have had thyroid surgery then you are probably familiar with the much dreaded low iodine diet.

About 4 years ago I was diagnosed with cancer of the thyroid. I had a complete thyroidectomy, was put on medication and went on my way. If anyone has to get cancer, the type I had is a “great” one to get. It almost never metastasizes and almost never returns.

Along the way, I had to have a PET scan to see if there were any cancerous thyroid cells floating around my system. To prepare for the scan I had to go on a low iodine diet. Apparently, normal thyroid tissue takes iodine from the blood stream and traps it within the cell to make thyroid hormone. The reason for the low iodine diet is to deplete your body of any iodine. After a few weeks of this diet, you get a dose of radioactive iodine. The iodine will hunt down any roaming thyroid cells that might be in your body. The PET scan will be able to see them, if they are present. I was a little disappointed to learn that even though any thyroid cells would glow, I would not. There should be something fun that comes from all of this, right? Can you imagine the fun that I could have if I glowed in the dark? <sigh> Oh well, it wasn’t to be so I’ll move on.

The diet isn’t really that bad although there are a lot of posts, on the Internet, that say otherwise. First of all, it’s only for 2 weeks. We can do pretty much anything for 2 weeks. You can’t have anything with iodine in it. I won’t go into all of the foods that you can’t have (and there are plenty) but I will focus on what I could have. I love food and I was determined to eat as normally as possible and still have it taste good. I could use table salt as long as it was iodine free and I could have Kosher salt. There aren’t enough herbs and spices in the world that can take the place of salt, for me. Not all salt free products are iodine free but many are. You can’t eat anything processed because most cleaning agents, that commercial meat producers use, have iodine in them. You can’t have any dairy or egg yolks so that would present a challenge when making cookies and other goodies but I was pretty sure I could figure out something.

In the next few days I will share some of the recipes I have made while on this journey. My goal was to make a few things that would taste good, be easy to make, and use readily available ingredients.

When I am done with this diet, I have to go on another special diet. It seems I have reflux. I want to try to get a handle on it with diet and lifestyle changes rather than medication. One of the things I have to give up when I go on the reflux diet is gluten. To tell you the truth, I’m a little excited about that part because I have been dying to try more gluten free recipes. I have made a few gluten free recipes for friends who have Celiac Disease or who are gluten intolerant but I tend to make the same few things over and over again because I don’t like wasting ingredients on something that might not be good. So, now’s my chance. I will share what I learn in a few weeks.

Tomorrow I will post the best chicken broth that I have ever made (and I make a lot of chicken broth). Until then, be kind to yourself and feel free to ask any questions you might have along the way.